Turn with me to the book of Habakkuk. It's three or four books away
from the New Testament. Get to Matthew and move three
or four books back and you'll find the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 4, Behold, his soul which is lifted
up, the word is literally swollen,
swollen, lifted up with pride. I think it's interesting quite
often when someone is sick, what happens? They become swollen. Behold, his soul which is swollen
is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith. I've entitled this message, Living
by Faith. Now this passage of scripture
is quoted three times in the New Testament. In the book of
Galatians, in the book of Romans, and in the book of Hebrews, the
passage of scripture I just read. And that lets us know that the
gospel of the Old Testament and the gospel of the New Testament
are the same, aren't they? Same message. In the Old Testament,
the just shall live by faith. Abraham lived by faith. Abel
lived by faith. All the Old Testament saints
were saved the same way the New Testament saints were saved.
By faith through grace. Now, look at the first part of
this book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk chapter 1. is a very
depressing chapter. And if you didn't get into chapter
two, there would be a whole lot to discourage you. Let's look
at a few of these verses. The burden which Habakkuk, the
prophet, did see. Oh, he saw a burden, something
that troubled him, something that was heavy. Oh, Lord, how
long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? even crying to thee
of violence, and thou wilt not save. Why dost thou show me iniquity,
and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are
before me, and there are that rise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slack, and
judgment doth never go forth. For the wicked doth compass the
righteous, therefore wrong judgment proceedeth." Sounds very much
like our day, doesn't it? Very much. Now, look, in verse
six, for lo, this is God speaking. And he says, I raise up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the
breadth of the land to possess the dwelling places that are
not theirs. Now, he's talking to the Israelites. He says, this
is what's going to happen. This is what's going to happen. I'm
going to send the Chaldeans, and here's what they're going to
do. They're terrible, they're seven and dreadful. Their judgment
and dignity shall proceed of themselves. Their horses are
swifter than leopards and are more fierce than the evening
wolves. And their horsemen shall spread
themselves and their horsemen shall come from far. They shall
fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall come all for
violence. Their faces shall suff up as
the east wind and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
This is what you all have to look forward to. I'm sending
these called in. And they shall scoff at the kings,
and the princes shall be a scorn unto them. They shall deride
every stronghold, for they shall heap dust, and take it. Then
shall his mind change, and he shall pass over and offend, imputing
this his power unto his God." Now Habakkuk speaks. Here is what he believes. "'Art
thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One?' We shall
not die, O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment, and, O mighty
God, thou hast established them for correction. He's talking
about the called-ins. Thou art of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Now, this is what
I believe, but here's what I see. Wherefore, lookest thou upon
them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the
wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? and
make us men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things
that have no rule over them. This is what I see. I believe
you are of too pure eyes to behold iniquity, yet all I see is iniquity."
Now, Habakkuk is discouraged. But as Paul would say, troubled
on every side, yet not distressed. Perplexed but not in despair,
persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed. Now, with these things in mind,
Habakkuk says in chapter 2, I will stand upon my watch and set me
upon the tower and will watch to see what he will say unto
me and what I shall answer When I'm reproved, I'm waiting for
a word from him. I'll stand and I'll wait for
it. You know it's worth waiting for, isn't it? I want to hear
his word. I want to hear what he says to
me. And I'm going to wait until I
hear. I'm going to stand on my tower and I'm going to wait.
Verse 2. And the Lord answered. He got
what he was waiting for. And the Lord answered me and
said, write. the vision. It's exact. It's my word. Write it down so
it cannot be changed. It knows no amendments, no modifications. Don't give your interpretation
of what I'm saying. Simply write down what I'm saying. Don't try and make it relevant.
I get so sick of hearing preachers talking about making God's truth
relevant. If you can make it relevant, you're totally irrelevant.
And you need to write that down. You can't make the truth of God
relevant. God's... Write it down. And make it plain
upon the tables. Make it so everybody can see
exactly what you're saying, that he may run. that readeth it. He can run with it because he
hears exactly what you're saying. Verse 3, For the vision is yet
for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not
lie. Though it tarry, wait for it,
because it will surely come. It will not tarry. Now here the
vision is. hear the word from God is, it's
so simple, behold, his soul, which is lifted up, is swollen
in pride, is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his
faith. Now, he first tells us what faith
is by telling us what it's not. You know, the Bible does that
a lot. He tells us what faith is by telling us what it is not. It's not lifted up. It's not
swollen, swollen with pride. Pride and faith cannot walk together. They cannot do it. Behold, he
that's swollen, his soul is not upright within him. Now, pride
is the sin of human nature. It's the first thing. Remember
Satan's temptation of our first parents in the garden? You'll
be as God's. You'll be like God. You'll be
on equal footing with him. You'll no longer be under his
thumb. You'll be as God's. You'll know
the difference between right and wrong. And I have no doubt
what that's a reference to is Satan was tempting them with
free will. You're going to have a free will. And you're going
to know the difference between good and evil, and you're going
to choose the good. You're not going to do it simply
because you've been programmed to, because you're a robot. No, you're
going to be like God. You're going to know good and
evil. You're going to choose the good. You're going to have
a glorious free will. You're going to be just like
God. And Eve took the bait. She took the bait. Pride. Now, pride is so scary. because it takes so many forms. It may come in haughty arrogance
or in deep tones of humility. It's tricky. When you press it
down in one place, it rises up somewhere else. And it is the
most unreasonable of all sins. God hates it. Why is it so unreasonable? Well, Paul put it this way. What
do you have that you didn't receive? What? Name it. If you have faith,
He gave it to you. If you have loved God, He gave
it to you. If you have humility, it's because
He humbled you. And as far as that goes, if you
think you have humility, I question whether you have any. I like
to hear about the fellow who said, behold, I've overcome my
pride. What do you have that you didn't
receive? Now, if you received it, Paul
says, why do you glory? As if you didn't receive it,
as if it's something that came from you. It's what God has given
you. Can you see how unreasonable
pride is? And pride betrays character.
That one who is swollen in pride is truly not upright. He's deceitful. And God hates it. Six things
that the Lord hate, yea, seven are abomination to Him, and what's
the first thing He mentions? A proud look and a haughty, arrogant
spirit. Pride. It scares me to death
because I see so much of it in my life. That's why it scares
me so bad. God hates it. Pride of face. Think how ridiculous that is.
Pride of the way you look. Pride of place. I'm somebody. I'm in a position of authority
and whatever it is. Pride of grace. How obnoxious. Pride of grace. God hates pride, but the just. Now look at the verse again,
behold, his soul, which is lifted up, swollen in pride and self-righteousness,
is not upright in him. It's deceitful, but the just. The justified, the righteous,
that same word just is generally translated in the Old Testament,
righteous, the two kinds of people, the righteous and the wicked.
That one who is lifted up in pride would be called the wicked. The just, the righteous, shall
live by his faith. Now, here are two things that
go together, justification and humility. They always go together. Because if you're justified,
you know it's something God totally did. It's God that justified
you. You know it's His work. You have
nothing to be proud about. He did it all. And you walk in
humility. The just shall live by His faith. The just who live by faith, that's
the opposite of the swollen and deceitful. The just. I love that
word, the just. The righteous. The justified. You know, I was thinking about
this while I was looking over my notes. I hope you don't ever grow weary
of hearing of justification. I hope it never becomes old to
you, because if it does, you're going to hear it anyway. You
are. And I hope I don't mean just
grinding out the same truth Because I don't have anything. Well,
I don't have anything else to say, but I mean, in a powerful, fresh, glorious
way, the great truth of justification, the just, the just. There is
such a thing as being just before God. There is such a thing as
being righteous before God. I love that verse of scripture
in Romans chapter four, verse five, to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. Now, if you're ungodly,
you are greatly interested in this thing of justification.
Aren't you thankful that he justifies the ungodly? Well, how? When
we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for
the ungodly. Now, if you're ungodly, that's
the only hope you have, the just. God justifies. I can stand before you right
now knowing that before God I am righteous. I really am. Because He justified me. It is God that justifies. If
He justified you, you are righteous before God. Turn to Romans chapter
4. Hold your finger there in the
back and What should we say then that
Abraham, our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For
if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. For what
saith the scripture, Abraham believed God, and it was counted
unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the
reward. not reckoned of grace, but of
death. God would owe it to you. But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness." You know what? I do believe on him that
justifies the ungodly. I'm one of those ungodly people
that he has justified. How? Go on reading. Verse 6,
even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man under
whom God imputeth righteousness without works. saying, Blessed
are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin." Now, these people, God says, are just. The just. The just. The righteous. The just shall live by his faith. Now, that tells me that a mistake
regarding faith is a mistake regarding life. That's a mistake
I cannot make. The just shall live, live before
God, have the life of God in their soul by faith. So before we look at what the
Bible says faith is, I want us to see the importance of faith.
You know, Paul said to the Ephesians, in Ephesians chapter 6, verse
17, he said, above all things, above all, he's talking about
all the different armor we're to wear, the helmet of salvation
and so on, the sword of the spirit. He says, above all, take the
shield of faith. That's more important than anything
else. And here's why faith is the salvation
grace. We're not saved by works. We're
not saved by our love. We're not saved by our zeal.
We're not saved by our doctrinal understanding. We're not saved
by our humility. We're not saved by anything but
by faith. By faith. Faith is the salvation
grace. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. Now, you look
at what the Bible called precious in the New Testament. What's
the Bible called precious? Anybody know? Four things. Four things. First, He is precious. Then we read of the precious
promises. Aren't the promises of the gospel
precious? That promise about the one who justifies the ungodly,
I find that so precious, the precious promises. Then we read
of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and like precious
faith. How precious faith is. You see, The reason it's precious is because
it is the saving grace. Faith, it's what he gives you,
and salvation. That woman comes to the prince
and she says, if I can just touch the hem of his garment, I'll
be whole. She knew that if she could come
into contact with him, she'd be whole. And she touched him
and she felt that she had been healed of that plague. And the
Lord said, thy faith hath saved thee. There's only two things
the Lord has ever said to marvel at. You know what they are? He
marveled at their unbelief. You know, it's amazing that somebody
would not believe him. It's so wicked. It's so amazing. It's
amazing, though, that people don't believe. And we'd be one
of them if he didn't give us the faith. We realize that. But
he also marveled He marveled and said, I have not found so
great faith. No, not in Israel. You see, all
other graces depend on faith. It's the root from which all
other graces grow. Now, how can I love him if I
don't believe him? How can I exercise patience if
I don't trust him who is in control? How can I have genuine courage
if I don't believe His purpose? You see, every other grace comes
out of faith. I understand why the disciples
said increase our faith. Can you pray that prayer right
now? Lord, increase my faith. It's the salvation grace and
it's also the grace from which all other graces grow. Faith is the only way to obtain
God's blessing Without faith, it's impossible to please him.
And I know this. We can't deal with conflicts. We can't deal
with our enemies without faith. It's only the shield of faith
that quenches the fiery darts of the wicked. So what is faith?
What is faith? Well, let's turn to Second Timothy,
Chapter one. I. You already know this verse,
if you listen much, but. May God cause it to come home
to you. May God cause it to come home to me. Verse 12, For to which cause I also suffer
these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom
I have believed And I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I've committed to him against that day. Now, there is faith. I know whom I have believed. Like we talked about this morning,
knowledge is not just the information you know. It's knowing a person.
I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded. I'm convinced.
I'm persuaded that he is able I am persuaded that he's able
to save me. I'm persuaded of it. I'm persuaded
he's able to keep that which I've committed to him against
that day. There we have knowledge, belief,
and commitment. And I have this thing of commitment.
If you believe in salvation by works in any way, to any degree,
you've never committed. You only commit when you believe
He is salvation and you don't look anywhere else except who
He is and what He did. And when I was thinking about
it, I was thinking about somebody in a plane. I was thinking, I'll
tell you when you commit to the parachute is when you jump out
of the plane. And you're committed to that parachute keeping you
from getting killed. You know the only hope you have
when you jump out of that plane. is if that parachute opens up,
you've committed to that parachute. I've committed to the Lord Jesus
Christ. I'm not looking anywhere else.
I'm not looking. If who he is and what he did
isn't enough to save me, I won't be saved. I know that. That's
what faith is. It's looking to him. I know whom I have believed and
I'm persuaded he's able to keep that which I've committed to
him against that day. Turn to Hebrews chapter 11. Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. That word substance is literally
a standing under. That's what the ground, the confidence,
the standing under. Now, if you stand under something,
you have to believe that it's going to be held up. You have
confidence when you stand under it. Faith is the standing under
of things hoped for. It's the evidence of things not
seen. Now, what's not seen? You can't look at me and see
that I'm justified. You can't look at me and see
that I'm sanctified. You can't look at me and see
that I'm glorified. You cannot see those things.
I can't look at me. And by looking at me, see that
I'm justified, sanctified and glorified. Well, what is the
evidence that I am? Faith. is the evidence of things not
seen. It's the substance of things
hoped for. I have a hope. We were singing that song face-to-face
with Christ my Savior. Face-to-face what will it be? When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ who died for me. I have a hope that I'm going
to see him face to face. And I have a hope that he is
going to embrace me. And I have a hope that I'm going
to be perfectly conformed to his image, that I'm going to
have no sin, that I'm going to be perfectly conformed to his
image. Now, that's what I'm hoping for. And what's the evidence I have
it? Faith. It's the standing under. And what am I under? What am I standing under? I'm
under the blood. I didn't put myself under the
blood. He did. But being under the blood, I have confidence
that I'm going to have that which I hope for. The just shall live
by his faith. Now, that's a negation of all
other ways to live. I can't live by sight. Can't
do it. Matter of fact, just like Habakkuk
said, look what all Habakkuk saw. He didn't see anything good,
did he? You read that first chapter.
He didn't see anything good. I can't live off by what I see.
I can't live off my circumstances. I can't say, well, God must be
blessing me because look how good things are. God must be
against me because look how bad things are. I never know what
the Lord's doing. I can't live off seeing the circumstances,
what's going on around me or what's happening to me. I can't
live off my feelings. Now, I love feelings. I do. My wife has accused me of not
having any, but I've got them. I promise you I do. I feel just
as deeply as anybody else. I might not express it the same
way, but I love to feel His presence. I love to feel His love to me. I love to feel His acceptance,
and I love to feel that I'm His child. I love those feelings,
but sometimes I don't have them. Sometimes I feel so far away.
Sometimes I feel how could I even be saved? I'm so cold and dead
and unfeeling. I can't live off my feelings. Feelings come and feelings go.
Feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the Word of God. Not else is worth believing. This negates all other ways of
life. I can't live off my work. I can't
live off my experience. The just shall live by faith. Now, as I've already said, this
is quoted three times in the New Testament, and each time
it has a little bit different emphasis. The just shall live
by faith. First turn to Romans chapter one. Verse 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God and the salvation to everyone
that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, for therein,
in the gospel that I am not ashamed of, is the righteousness of God
revealed. From faith to faith, as it's
written, the just shall live by faith. Now, the righteousness
of God revealed. This is what faith received.
I'm justified by His righteousness. That's my righteousness before
God. And what a wonderful... I have the very righteousness
of God. I'm, in that sense, someone God
can be pleased with because I have His righteousness. That's what
faith receives. It receives being saved by the
righteousness of God. I, my personal righteousness
is the righteousness of God. That's mysterious, isn't it?
It can only be received by faith, or in any other way that could
be believed, that you're actually the righteousness of God. But
that's what Scripture says, for he hath made him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. I can only be laid hold of by
faith that I'm the very righteousness of God. Galatians chapter 3. Verse 10. We'll start in verse 9. So then
they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Remember,
faith is trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. It's believing his ability. It's saying, I know whom I have
believed, and I'm persuaded he's able to keep that which I've
committed to him against that day. They which be of faith are
blessed with faithful Abraham, for as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse, for it is written, cursed. Is everyone that continueth not
in all things which are written in the book of the law to do
them, but that no man is justified by the law on the side of God?
It's evident. For the just shall live by faith. The gospel is received through
faith. Now, what do I mean by that?
What does the Bible mean by that? The gospel is received by faith.
Here's another way to say it. Forgiveness, the forgiveness
of my sins, is not the end of the process. It's not something
I beg for forgiveness, and I ask for forgiveness, and I'm sorry,
and I seek to not commit those sins anymore, and then God forgives
me. No, it's not the end of the process. My salvation begins begins, even before I experience
it, it begins with the full, free, frank forgiveness, blotting
out of all my sins. Now, there wasn't any works I
did to get that. All I can do is believe it. Just
believe it. Believe. The just shall live by faith. And then Hebrews chapter 10. We persevere by faith. Verse 37, for yet a little while.
And he that shall come will come. And will not tarry. Now the just
shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, and
that's a nautical term, it means let the sails down so you don't
go quite so fast. Slow down. If any man draw back,
what's it say? My soul shall have no pleasure
in the end, but we're not of them who draw back under perdition,
but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Now, look
back in Hebrews chapter three. We persevere and continue to
live by faith. Look in chapter 3, verse 6. But Christ, as a Son over His
own house, whose house are we? We're actually the house of God,
if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope,
firm unto the end. Look in verse 14. For we are
made partakers of Christ. That's a tall thing, isn't it?
To be a partaker of Christ. That's just one of those mysterious
things in the gospel that you read, you can't grasp it, but
you believe, I'm an actual partaker of Christ. We are made partakers
of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence. Now, what's
the beginning of our confidence? At the first of this message,
I said, try to remember. I know you don't have an exact
date, but try to remember when you first believed. Now, I know this when I first
believed, I know this when I first believed the only hope that I
had that I would be saved is if he saved me and he did it
all. I knew that. I knew that my only
hope was that everything that God required of me, he looked
to his son for. Now, when I first believed, that's
what I believed. That's who I believed. Now, question. Have I graduated past that? It's no different. Not even an iota. Still, my only
hope right now is that He does all the saving. He does it all. And everything, everything He
requires of me, He looks to His Son for. That is my hope. And I never get past that. The just shall live by his faith. And look what this faith did
for Habakkuk. Turn back to the book of Habakkuk. Here's Habakkuk's faith. This
is a few verses of scripture that we ought to memorize and
think about. Verse 17. Habakkuk says, Chapter 3, verse
17. Although the fig tree shall not
blossom, neither shall fruit be in the
vines. The labor of the olive shall
fail. and the field shall yield no
meat. The flock shall be cut off from
the fold, and there shall be no herd in
the stalls." That's pretty blinkin'. Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength,
and he will make my feet like Hines' feet, and he will make
me to walk upon mine high places. The just shall live by his faith. May God grant us all Now, we're
going to observe the Lord's table, and let me remind you that the
Lord said, This do in remembrance of me. And I thought about that
passage of Scripture that Brother Joe read about Gethsemane's garden. When he was faced, he was faced with being utterly
forsaken by God. He was faced with being made sin. He was faced
with being cut off, with having no communion with his Father,
no light, only darkness. He was faced with bearing the
full equivalent of eternal hell and he looked at that and he
said if it be possible let this cup pass from me but it was not possible nevertheless not my will, but
thine be done." And when we eat the bread, we're remembering
His broken body, broken under the wrath of God. And oh, would
to God that we could be given the grace to realize when He
did this, He did this for me. I know he did it for his people.
And that's where faith begins. Knowing he did it for his people.
Knowing that he's successful. But oh, would to God that he
would enable me to see that he did this for me. The wrath he
endured. And that when we drink that wine,
it reminds us of the salvation he procured. and secured. I remember his suffering, but
I also remember his salvation. This do in remembrance of me. Let's pass out the bread and
wine.